Curricular Reform and ICT Integration

Richard R. Rowe, Ph.D.,Open Learning Exchange International

www.ole.org

The Role of ICT4E Policy inEducation Transformation

Montevideo, Uruguay28 April 2011

Evidence: Seeing is believingBut

Believing is seeingWe can only see what we believe.

Framing

So, What do we believe aboutWho we are and how we learn?

Man and MachineBut this is Not the essential nature of

Human Beings

Connections Communication CooperationMuch more aligned with our core nature

Many to Many

One to One

Q1. How can curriculum design & development take advantage of ICT integration?

The Learning Matrix – Simplified Version

Financial Human Physical Social CulturalSubject

Pre

-K

K

3 6

9

12

Hig

her

Ed

PG

OER+Web2.0 = C3D2

Open Educational Resources (OER)Flexible Creative Commons LicensesOpen Courseware Consortium – 300+ membersK-12 growing rapidly- will become the standard

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)Collaborative developmentOpen OfficeGrowing movement- will experience resistance

Web 2.0Early stages of collaborative developmentCloud-based rapidly growingBuilds on inherent desire to connect and share

Will become more and more friendly

Key 21st Century Developments

OER/Web2.0 Features and Benefits

Economics Threatens current publishers Substantial cost reduction Reduces duplications of effort Cost shifting (print or devices)

Translations & Customization Need formatting standards Borrowers’ responsibility Rough drafts automated Results available to others

Learners’ experience Dynamic, interactive Multi-media possibilities Collaboration possibilities Feedback to sources

2. Is there room for a new set of skillssuch as 21st Century skills in developingcountries?

Multiple definitions of “21st Century Skills”

a. What people need to know and be able to do during the 21st Century.

a. What ICT skills people need to have during the 21st Century.

A problem with the latter definition is that it falls into the “Basic/Fortran Trap.”

Who knows ICT skills will be widely needed five and ten years from now? Learning how to learn seems more important.

The former definition (a) seems more in line with the phrase.

21st Century Skills involves meaningfully and continuously:

• Learning how to learn and how to help others learn how to learn;• Reading newspapers, magazines and books and inquiring about them;• Creating and communicating spoken and written ideas;• Writing letters to friends, employers, media and public agencies;• Manipulating and analyzing numbers and keeping basic financial records;• Presenting a proposal for a job, a loan or a good idea;• Demonstrating practical entrepreneurship and innovation;• Applying helpful knowledge of food, nutrition, health and environment to

themselves, their families and their communities.• Appreciating and engaging in art, music, dance and culture• Cooperating with others and managing conflicts effectively• Participating in the governance and life of their community and nation,• Understanding and practicing the rights and responsibilities of being

human.

3. How can new teaching and learningmethodologies be supported?

Develop model activity-based learning materials for basic literacy and numeracyVideo highly a highly effective teacher demonstrating this approach with studentsTrain coaches to use the materials and video with teachers and their studentsBring School BeLL (Basic e-Learning Library) to schools w videos and complete libraryShow teachers and students video of model teaching and learning.Encourage teachers and their students to discuss and practice the model.Video teacher and their students practicing the model.Show teachers and their students their video; have them compare it with the model.Discuss what they have done well and how they can improve their performance.Collaboratively set goals and expectations for the next coaching visit.Leave the School BeLL at school with videos and flip video camera.Repeat process two or three times during the first year. Create internal school-based capacity to continually use LIT system to improve learning.

An example of the use of ICT to improve teaching and learning

Learning Innovation Teams – in-service training OLE Ghana

The School BeLLBasic e-Learning Library

• Collaboratively developed with both paid coders and volunteers.• Drupal-based modular open source code.• Capacity for thousands of books, courses, video and interactive media

that can be customized and supplemented to meet the unique needs of a community – basic education, health, nutrition, agriculture, business.

• Smart search for complete courses (lesson plan, textbook, workbook, test)• Enables local content to be developed and printed (newspapers,

announcements, worksheets) • With projector and speakers can show movies, videos and other

presentations to school and community groups• Available in different configurations (printers, projectors, remote

devices.).• Teachers and students encouraged to rate and comment on content.• Periodic downloads new content and uploads user feedback.• Costs less than $1,000 per village for the basic configuration.• Powered by a 12-volt source of power such as a car battery or solar cells

School Bell

OER+Web2.0 = C3D2

Unlimited many to many

possibilities